A new ad campaign and website is trying to warn Toronto’s mayoral candidates off the idea of privatizing the TTC.

A group called the Public Transit Coalition has spent $500,000 donated by the TTC workers’ union to warn of the disastrous consequences to cities that privatize their transit systems.

The campaign, which will include television and newspaper ads, touts service cuts, fare increases and the drain on taxpayers experienced in cities “like Toronto,” such as London, England; Melbourne, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; and Vancouver.